"I do not believe in Modern Medicine. I am a medical heretic. My aim in this book is to persuade you to become a heretic, too. I haven't always been a medical heretic. I once believed in Modern Medicine" (p. 11).There are ten pages of this Non Credo in Confessions of a Medical Heretic by Robert S. Mendelsohn, 1979. I especially like this short paragraph.
"Modern Medicine can't survive without our faith, because Modern Medicine is neither an art nor a science. It's a religion" (p. 17).The first chapter, entitled Dangerous Diagnosis, begins this way:
"I don't advise anyone who has no symptoms to go to the doctor for a physical examination. For people with symptoms, it's not such a good idea, either. The entire diagnostic procedure — from the moment you enter the office to the moment you leave clutching a prescription or a referral appointment — is a seldom useful ritual" (p. 21).I hope you noticed the author's M.D. on the book's cover above. He's a qualified medical doctor, not a quack. I'm enjoying the book so far, if that's the right word. Here's more about Dr. Mendelsohn.
I have long speculated that a hundred years from now people will be as appalled by our medical procedures as we are about doctors using leeches to bleed people in the 1700s.From Amazon: "Robert S. Mendelsohn (1926 – 1988) was an American pediatrician who criticized his profession, inveighing against pediatric practice, obstetric orthodoxy and the effect of the preponderance of male obstetricians, and vaccination. He also opposed water fluoridation, coronary bypass surgery, licensing of nutritionists, and the routine use of X-rays. For 12 years, Mendelsohn was an instructor at Northwestern University Medical College, and was associate professor of pediatrics and community health and preventive medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine for another 12 years. From 1981 to 1982, Mendelsohn was president of the National Health Federation (NHF). He also served as National Director of Project Head Start's Medical Consultation Service (a position he was later forced to resign after criticizing the public school system), and as Chairman of the Medical Licensing Committee of Illinois."
Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.
3 comments:
It sounds fascinating. Does it feel dated? A lot has happened in Modern Medicine since 1979!
Thanks for joining me on Book Beginnings!
Rose City Reader
Gilion, that's a good question. The book is still in print, maybe because the doctor tells what readers should watch for, and the specific stuff isn't what he emphasizes. For example, he says we can BUY a Physicians Desk Reference, whereas we today would say GOOGLE it. Otherwise, the information is surprisingly helpful.
If I'd read Dr Mendelsohn's books before a group of evil doctors lied and bullied me into a totally unnecessary radical hysterectomy for personal gain, and botched it irreparably because they needed guinea pigs for training practice at a teaching hospital, I wouldn't be in this predicament today. I was butchered in 2005, and his book is more relevant today than it was when it was written over 30 years ago.
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